Author: Beth Duncan

Romans 9:14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all!

If I started talking about what I *deserve* because of my age, my seniority, my hard work, my positive attitude, etc, I’m hopeful that it wouldn’t take me long to realize I am seriously off-track. And, usually, it doesn’t take long down the path of “positive things that I deserve” to realize that there are a whole lot of negative things I deserve, too, because of my impatience, my anger, my pride, my shortsightedness, etc.

Romans 9:15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

Thankfully, God doesn’t treat me as my behavior *deserves.* In the grand scheme of life, there are far more times where my attitude tends negative before I reign it back to positive. His grace is a gift that I take for granted, and that needs to stop.

Romans 9:16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.

Precious Savior, Thank You for Your mercy and grace. Help me to treat others with the same compassion, not because they deserve it, but because You extend such grace to me when I don’t. Amen.

Romans 9:17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

Have a blessed day.

Romans 8:14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

Years ago, when my sister began her first foray into adoption, I had fears about whether I could love an adopted child like I loved my biological son and nephews. Now, I realize those were just the normal doubts of whether I had enough love to cover one more. I had similar fears when I was pregnant with my second child: Was there enough love to go around? The answer is “Of course!” My adopted niece and nephew are loved just as much, just as completely. There is no division, no distinction. They are all family.

Romans 8:15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

This journey to understanding in my own life has helped me to understand adoption into God’s family better. Just like there is no distinction within the cousins—they are all cousins, all family, all deeply loved—there is no distinction in God’s family either. We are His, we are family, we are deeply loved.

Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Lord, Thank You that we belong to You, adopted to sonship. Thank You for the right to call You Abba, Father. Thank You that we are brothers and sisters in Christ—deeply loved, fully family. Help us to live boldly as Your children. Amen.

Romans 8:17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Have a blessed day. I love you.

Romans 7:21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

Commentary helped me to make sense of this section and it ties quite closely to yesterday’s reflection. It is because of the law that we recognize what we should not do, but our fleshy humanity lacks the strength to save ourselves. We need a Savior, Jesus, to save us from the evil we know we should not do. Recognizing that we cannot save ourselves is a crucial step.

Romans 7:22-23 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

I know I should not crave validation from others. I know I should not be prideful or boastful, angry or arrogant. And yet, as much as I want to not do these things, I’m in the middle of them before I know it. And I know *I* can’t stop. I can only turn to Jesus for help and keep trying. And that’s the right move. Acknowledging my helplessness, turning to my Savior, and continuing to try.

Romans 7:24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?

Precious Savior, Thank You for understanding that I cannot save myself. Thank You for helping me understand the same. Thank You for the power of admitting my weakness, the power of turning the situation over to You, the power in continuing to try again. Amen.

Romans 7:25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Have a blessed day.

Romans 6:6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—

I’m not going to lie—this chapter gives me a lot of trouble for a lot of reasons. I know “good Christian people” who are still neck-deep in sin. I know “good Christian people” who are so judgmental and narrow minded but fail to see how it leads them to sin. It’s truly difficult for me to reconcile.

Romans 6:7 …because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

More than that, *I* have died to sin and been reborn in Christ, and yet I struggle daily with pride, anger, frustration, overwhelm, etc—all sins that separate me from my Savior. Yet I don’t think that makes me a failure. It makes me human. And I keep trying.

Romans 6:10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

Lord, In 2 Cor 12, Paul prays three times for You to remove the thorn from his side. But You say to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Help me, like Paul in 2 Cor 12, to boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. Your grace is all I need. Amen

Romans 6:11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Have a blessed day.

Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

Peace with God, grace in which we stand, these words are soothing to my soul this morning. What did I do to deserve His peace and grace? Absolutely nothing but be His creation. This is His gift, and I am eternally grateful.

Romans 5:3-4 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Glorying in suffering is a harder pill to swallow. No one enjoys suffering. But I do know first hand that suffering opens my heart to God in a way that can’t happen when life is smooth sailing. That definitely gives me hope.

Romans 5:5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Lord, Thank You. Truly. Amen.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Have a blessed day.

Romans 4:4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation.

I am a hard worker. You tell me what needs doing—give me the parameters, the rules—and get out of the way, because I’ve got this. Tell me what an A looks like, and I can give you A-level work, no problem. That ability, those traits have served me well academically.

Romans 4:5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.

But Paul’s point is that faith isn’t a problem to be solved, it isn’t a report to be written or a set of rules to be followed. Faith must involve the heart. It is a gift, one that can never be earned, one that can never be deserved. Rule-following won’t get you there. Sunday school attendance won’t do it. Faith in God alone, faith in His gift of grace and His right to bestow it to whom He sees fit, is the only way.

Romans 4:14 For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless….

Lord, I’ve struggled for years with the term “human being” because I feel the need to do, to perform, to prove instead of just to be. Thank You for the gift of Your grace, that I can’t earn it, that I can’t justify my receiving of it. Help me just to be thankful for it and to tell others of Your glory. Amen.

Romans 4:16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.

Have a blessed day.

Romans 3:5 But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.)

Humans are frighteningly good at coming up with justifications. Paul, in this chapter, is going through several human justifications about righteousness and faith. As you can see by reading through the verses here, there are some real doozies.

Romans 3:6 Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world?

But Paul tells us in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ….” There is one justification—faith in Christ, nothing else. At our hearts, we know that, but Paul cuts to the quick with his argument.

Romans 3:7 Someone might argue, “If my falsehood enhances God’s truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?”

Lord, Forgive me when I try to justify myself, my actions, my mistakes and missteps. I am nothing without You. Draw me closer, always. Renew a steadfast spirit within me. Amen.

Romans 3:8 Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—“Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is just!

Have a blessed day.

Romans 2:1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Lord, There are so many passages in the Bible that caution against judging, but it is so ridiculously, humanly easy to judge others. Forgive me when I take the easy way and point out the flaws of others instead of working on my own mess.

Romans 2:3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?

Lord, You could justifiably strike me down on the spot, I fail so often in following You. But You know I am far from perfect, and You give me new mercies every morning as I try again to get things right. Thank You for Your love and compassion.

Romans 2:4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

Lord, it is so easy to get sidetracked from my own mess by trying to “help out” my fellow man, pointing out ways that others can do better, be better. Help me to work on myself, to strive to become a better follower of Christ each day, to show my neighbor the same love, compassion, and mercy that You show me. Always. Amen.

Romans 2:5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

Have a blessed day.

Romans 1:7 To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Commentary tells me that Grace was the Greek greeting and Peace the Jewish, showing in one beautiful greeting Paul’s love and care for both Greeks and Jews. I never realized the inherent welcome despite differences in that greeting, though I’ve always had a fondness for it.

Romans 1:9-10 God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times….

I love that Paul remembers others in his prayers and understands that people can mutually encourage each other by their faith. I fully believe this as well.

Romans 1:11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—

Lord, You made us for community and relationship. You designed us to love and support each other as we strive to draw closer to You. Help me, always, to shine Your light and comfort Your people. Amen.

Romans 1:12 …that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

Have a blessed day.